Syrian Air

Early years: Syrian Airways (1946–1958)

Syrian Airways was established in 1946, with two propeller aircraft and started to fly between a domestic networks such as Damascus, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Palmyra and Qamishli. The airline started its operations in June 1947 using two Beechcraft Model 18s and three Douglas DC-3 (C-47 Dakota). The Dakotas had been acquired from Pan American World Airways, which provided technical assistance to Syrian Airways during the first years of operation.

Syrian Airways also operated a regional network, with flights to Beirut, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Amman; followed by Cairo, Kuwait, Doha and Jeddah. The airline expanded during the next years to include Beirut, Baghdad, and Jerusalem, then Cairo, Kuwait and Doha, in addition to flights during the hajj.

Financial difficulties and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War led to the withdrawal of PAA and caused the suspension of service until mid-1951. The operation was resumed after receiving government support in 1952. In 1952, the airline was provided with three Douglas DC-3s and with four Douglas DC-4s in 1954, and in 1957 it received four Douglas DC-6s in the name of United Arab Airline.

On December 21, 1953, one of the airline's Douglas planes crashed near Damascus killing all nine aboard. The airline's operating permit was cancelled following the crash. The airline was allowed to fly again in 1954. The Model 18s had been returned to the Syrian Air Force in 1949, while four additional Dakotas were acquired between 1952 and 1956.

One of the older Dakotas (YK-AAE) crashed during its climb out of Aleppo's Nayrab Airport on February 24, 1956, during a heavy storm. The 19 people on board died in the airline's worst accident to date. Newer and stronger planes were consequently added to the fleet in the mid-fifties: two Douglas DC-4/C-54 Skymaster, followed by a Douglas DC-4-1009 acquired from Swissair in December 1958, complementing an active fleet of four Douglas C47 Dakotas. The network was expanded to Dhahran in the Persian Gulf while frequencies were reinforced elsewhere.

Merger with Misrair: United Arab Airlines (1958–1961)

In February 1958, Syria and Egypt decided to unite under the leadership of president Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the two countries became provinces of the United Arab Republic (UAR). The merger between Syrian Airways and Misrair, the state-owned airlines of Syria and Egypt came as a consequence of this political union. The airlines merged on December 25, 1958, to form United Arab Airlines (UAA). At the time of the merger, Syrian Airways was still only a small regional airline while its Egyptian counterpart, Misrair, was the largest and oldest airline in the Arab world, operating an extensive network out of Cairo, the region's metropolis.

During the UAA interlude, only regional and domestic routes were operated in Syria, flights further afield connected at the Cairo hub. Two planes inherited from Syrian Airways were written off between 1959 and 1961: the Douglas DC-4-1009 which was ditched in the Congo River as it was carrying cargo from Accra to Leopoldville on September 1, 1960, and a Dakota which crashed on its final approach of Qamishli on a domestic flight from Aleppo on May 6, 1961. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in either accident.

The union between Egypt and Syria ended on September 26, 1961, amidst tensions between the leaderships of the two provinces of the UAR. The Syrian Arab Republic was declared in Syria, while Egypt chose to continue to carry the title of UAR until 1971. In parallel to that divorce, Syria withdrew from UAA. All the airliners previously owned by Syrian Airways, two Douglas DC-6Bs and one Douglas DC6B freighter were given up by UAA to the Syrian authorities.

Syrian Arab Airlines (1961–1969)

Syrian Arab Airlines (SAAL) was founded in October 1961 to take over UAA's operations in Syria and to become the new national airline. The fleet initially consisted of three Douglas C-47 Dakotas, two Douglas C-54 Skymasters, two Douglas DC-6Bs and one Douglas DC-6B freighter (later sold to LAC Colombia). Domestic and regional flights were promptly resumed and the fleet originally was painted in a green livery reminiscent of that of the Syrian Airways colors.

SAAL purchased a third DC-6B from SAS in November 1962. Flights to European destinations (Rome and Munich) were started in 1963, followed by flights to London and Paris (Le Bourget), Karachi and Delhi in 1964. A new livery was introduced then, with alternating dark blue and red stripes for the cheatline.

Syrian Arab Airlines became a founding member of the Arab Air Carriers' Organization (AACO) and entered the jet age in 1965, with the purchase of two Sud Aviation 210 Super-Caravelle 10B3s. These jets enabled the airline to expand and reinforce its network with the addition of flights to Luxembourg, Prague, Athens, Istanbul, Teheran and Bahrain. A slightly altered livery was introduced for the occasion, removing the parallel stripes from the fin and removing the red stripes from the cheatline. In 1966, a pool partnership with Middle East Airlines – Air Liban was signed and a twice-daily rotation between Beirut and Damascus was launched.